


Tragedy in the Mist

by Jonsona



Series: What We Die For [2]
Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Twins, Canon-Typical Violence, Male My Unit | Byleth, My Unit | Byleth Twins, Soft Magic System, Survival, Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-27
Updated: 2021-01-27
Packaged: 2021-03-13 12:55:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,320
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29029050
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jonsona/pseuds/Jonsona
Summary: On a mission originally intended to be nothing more than a simple patrol, Byleth and his band of students- accompanied by Catherine and her Knights of Seiros- suddenly find themselves in a fight for survival as the Blue Lions muster the courage and will to turn their swords against their own people.
Series: What We Die For [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2129613
Kudos: 1





	Tragedy in the Mist

**Part I**

**White Clouds**

**30 th, Garland Moon**

The earlier morning sun was occluded by the thick blanket of thunderclouds, and the fog that devoured the woods only seemed to be getting thicker as time passes. Crickets could be heard chirping throughout the grassy field that ran alongside it, as well as the heavy footsteps that sank into the wet and muddy ground due to last night's downpour.

Students of the Blue Lions trudged silently behind the Knights of Seiros, each of whom was accompanied by two specially assigned units who'd been recently conscripted into the Kingdom's armed forces. And the ones leading the company were none other than Catherine, one of the Arch Bishops most devout followers, a descendant of one of the Ten Elite and wielder of the legendary Thunderbrand, and Byleth- one of the two mercenaries that have taken on the role of teacher and mentor to the students of the Blue Lions- who walked silently at the front next to her.

Meanwhile, at the rear of the group, some of the soon-to-be officers of the Holy Kingdom were beginning to have trouble keeping up with the others; notably, Annette, who found herself constantly stumbling over the mud that now covered her boots and up to her ankles, along with some of the other recruits that the students had been assigned to lead in order to help bolster their leadership experience. But it wasn't until she took one last trip over a patch of grass trying to remove herself from the wet earth that she found herself tumbling towards the ground, only to be caught by Mercedes and helped her dear friend back onto her feet.

“Are you alright, Annie?” She asked concernedly.

“Ye- yeah, I'm fine, thanks Mercie,” Annette puffed. “I just didn't think that _I'd_ be the one sinking in the mud like quicksand since I'm not the one wearing all of that armor.”

Next to her, Sylvain laughed lightly. “Well, I'd still be counting your blessings if I were you,” he says as he wipes the sweat from his brow. “With how warm and humid it is now, a set of armor is the last thing I'd want to be wearing.” The noble winks. “Plus, that combined with the body odor that comes with it, it doesn't quite make you that approachable to the ladies.”

“Hmph,” Felix let's out in front of him but doesn't turn back to look.

Anette leans in closer to Sylvain. “Hey, um, is everything alright between you and Felix?” She whispers.

“Ah, don't worry about him,” he waves it off. “Just a bit of a misunderstanding before we left on our mission, he'll come around.”

“And hopefully no sooner than you intend to keep finding things to gripe about.” Felix snaps at him.

Sylvain sighs, “Hoo boy, here we go. Look, Felix, there's a difference between finding something to complain about and trying to make something lighthearted out of the situation.”

“Quite frankly, I don't even care.” He turns his head and scowls. “I say we get this petrol over with so

that way I won't have to listen to your lighthearted annoyance.” Felix then turns his attention back in the forward direction. And unbeknownst to him, both of his soldiers behind him give each other a concerned look.

In a bid to change the subject, Dimitri clears his throat. “So, Ashe, do you happen to know this area very well? Since this is part of Lonato's land?”  
Ashe, who'd hidden himself at the edge of the party, swallows and nodded. “Yes, your Highness, this is actually where Lord Lanato and Christophe would teach me how to use the bow. This was their hunting grounds.”

“I see.” Dimitri nodded. “You always did have a sharp eye with that bow, as you've demonstrated both at the Monastery and when we dealt with those bandits back at Zanado with the other Professor and the Black Eagles.”

“I do appreciate the kind words, Your Highness, I truly do, but...” His eyes fall to the ground before him. “This is not something I wish to discuss right now, please... Forgive me.”

“No, no, I understand.” Dimitri looks at him sincerely, placing a hand on his shoulder. “But don't worry, I'm certain we'll be able to find a peaceful end to this, should the opportunity arise. Just... Well, have faith.”

“Yes, I agree with his Highness,” Dedue speaks up. “As it stands, they are still people of the Kingdom, and we should be impelled to resolve this with minimum bloodshed.”

“Oh, well look at that,” Felix mused, “I guess a lapdog _can_ be trained to heal on its leash.”

“That's enough, Felix.” Ingrid asserted.

Mercedes spoke up, “I too agree with Dimitri, and I'm grateful that he was able to convince the Arch Bishop to have us see to the unrest rather than the Black Eagles like she originally planned.”

“Hmm...” Ingrid thought out loud. “Now that I think about it, why _did_ Rhea initially want to send the other Professor and her Imperial class on our own turf? I mean, this _is_ Faerghus' problem, isn't it?”

“Maybe she felt it necessary to not cause internal conflict within the Kingdom about an issue involving the Church.” Annette inferred, “And besides, we are very close to the border of the Adrestian Empire, so it might've been easier for the Church to take responsibility for putting down an insurrection.”

“That does sound like a fair assessment,” said Sylvain. “But there is still one thing that's been itching at me that I can't quite pin down.”

“And what is that?” Dimitri asked curiously.

The heir to House Gautier grinned. “Now where can a handsome guy like me get some fresh cologne around here for this suit of armor?”

A mass of groans suddenly broke out followed by laughter, causing the company to come to a complete halt and Catherine calling out from the front. “Hey, what's with all the bellyaching back there?”

“Oh- uh,” Dimitri stumbled with his words, trying desperately to contain his laughter while also watching Ashe do the same. “It's- everything is fine, we just, uhm..”

The wielder of the Thunderbrand cut him off. “Well, you clearly have time to gossip, so why don't come up here and talk to the Professor and me.”

“Ye-Yes ma'am.”

“And bring Ashe along with you. I need to have a word with him.”

Any possible uplifting spirits were suddenly diminished upon the last order given by Catherine, and Ashe's face drained of color. But after a quick pat on the shoulder and an assuring smile from Dimitri, the two quickly marched to the front of the battalion where she and the Professor were waiting.

“Alright, you,” The relic-wielding knight pointed to one of her soldiers. “Take a man with you and scout the inner perimeter of these woods.” She points slightly north of them. “It seems that the fog has only gotten thicker the more we get near it, so we need to ensure it's nothing out of the ordinary.”

The soldier nodded affirmatively. “Right away, Captain.”

Once the scouts had been dispatched, Catherine then brings her attention to the two boys standing before her. “Alright you two, I need to have a private chat with you and the Professor. Come with me.”

**X-X-X**

“Now then,” She spoke up once they were out of ear-shot from the rest of the group, her eyes expressing lax and calmness. “I don't think I need to remind any of you that we're only here to clean up the aftermath, not to fight.”

Ashe huffed softly through his nose and looked away, while Dimitri simply maintained eye contact. “I understand.”

Catherine didn't waver. “Look, I get how much this means to the both of you. But orders are orders, and I hate to put this bluntly, this _is_ what you signed up for, whether it's the outcome you wanted or not.” Closing her eyes, the knight placed a hand on her chin while resting the elbow on the other arm. “This isn't to say you made the wrong choice in dealing with your own matters, but you need to understand that even if these are people you once knew, you mustn't falter in doing what is necessary to protect those who would do the same for you.”

“But...” The ashen-haired archer shook his head. “Why would Lonato incite such a reckless rebellion?”

“You should know more about that than any of us, Ashe.” Catherine places a hand on her hip.

“Well, I don't” Ashe reaffirmed, beaming at her. “I already told you everything I could've possibly known back at the Monastery, and Lonato never mentioned anything of the like to me.”

The Blue Lion's house leader shifted. “He probably didn't want you getting caught up in his own personal vendetta.”

Byleth, the blank slated Professor who hadn't uttered a word since that morning at the beginning of their petrol, spoke up. “This is due to your relationship with Lonato, is it not?” He asked the boy.

Ashes nodded. “As you already know, I'm his adopted son. But he raised me as though I were his own blood.” His gaze falls away. “He was always so kind. I don't understand...” A heavy sigh followed. “I guess it has to do with Christophe.”

“Christophe,” the Professor repeated. “Your adoptive brother?” The archer nodded once more.

“And that is why I think his reason for keeping you in the dark is tenfold,” said Catherine. “The less you knew about his plans of an uprising against the Church, the safer you'd be from facing judgment from the Arch Bishop. Speaking of, Professor, do you happen to know about the Tragedy of Duscar?”

“I have heard of it,” The ex-mercenary said flatly.

“So then you know of when the king of the Holy Kingdom of Faerghus was...” She hesitates. “Was murdered by the people of Duscar. It happened about four years ago...” She turns her gaze towards Dimitri, having looked guilty about having brought up the subject, but Dimitri shook his head.

“It's OK, Catherine. Please, go on.”

“Right. Well, Lord Lonato's son, Christophe, was accused of being involved in that whole awful affair. He... Was executed by the Church.”

“The Tragedy of Duscar...” Byleth thought for a moment, thinking back to the day when his students were assigned their squads for the upcoming mission. Nearly every Blue Lion had been given new recruits who came from the Kingdom of Faerghus, with the one exception being Dedue, the Duscan who instead took command of those assigned to him by the Church. “Why was the King targeted?”

Catherine answered, “King Lambert was attempting a major political reform. Needless to say, he had many enemies. But whatever the truth behind that incident may be, Lord Lonato has harbored resentment toward the Church ever since.”

Her face fell as though there were more she wanted to say, and Ashe quickly picked up on that. “And? what else?” He pressed, “Please, Catherine, if there is anything else that may help us understand Lord Lonato's grief, then that would mean a whole lot to me.”

She shook her head and sighed. But before she was able to get another word out, a blood piercing scream came from the outskirts of the woods. “ _CAPTAIN!!!”_

Everyone was suddenly on high alert as they turned to see the same scout that had been dispatched earlier falling over himself through the field towards them, however, his partner was nowhere to be seen. And upon closer look as they watched him desperately stumbling over the mud towards them, an arrow could be seen sticking out of his lower back with a hand clutching the arrowhead protruding through his side.

The group quickly hurried to the soldier's aid, with Catherine calling out behind her. “Get a healer over here- _now!_ ” The company quickly mobilized with Mercedes and her team being hurried to the front as they hurried to regroup with their leaders.

Byleth was the first to reach the Church soldier, followed swiftly by Catherine and Dimitri as they had him sit in an upright position. The man was gasping in pain- breathing quickly and heavily as blood spilled from his abdomen and tried his best to keep from crying out. “Oh gods, oh gods, agh- fuuuu-!”

“Listen to me, soldier.” Catherine knelt down next to him. “You're OK, help is on its way. But I need you to tell me what happened. Where is our other man?”

“Ghg- Agh! I- I don't know. At first, he was behind me, then arrows starting shrieking past us, and all I could think about was getting the hell-.” He suddenly cried out again before taking a few more deep breaths, then spoke lowly. “It's Lanato.” He manages to growl out as his eyes up bored into Byleth's. “The fog. They used the fog as cover to get past the knights. They're coming our way right now as we speak.”

The Professor immediately stood as he looked up over the canopy of the woods before them, and what he saw was a rising form of some of the most unnatural fog he'd ever seen. Rather than the traditional gray fog that seems to slowly settle over the land around them, something more akin to mist began to geyser over the crowns of the trees some fifty meters away and began to spill throughout the woods.

“Get him up.” He told them. “Now.”

Catherine, who still held the injured man up in one arm, followed his gaze. “Oh, Goddess.” She pointed to the two students. “Dimitri. Ashe. Each of you take his shoulder and follow the Professor.” They complied. Then to Byleth, “Stay with them and get into the treeline. We can't be caught out in the open when that fog hits us, so the company and I will be right behind you. It seems that this battle cannot be avoided.”


End file.
